The Pasadena City Council received a visit from Harris County royalty recently. Pictured in front: Harris County Junior Miss Angelica Martinez (back row, left to right): Councilmember Ornaldo Ybarra, Bruce ... more

Photo: Kristi Nix

Council member, college trustee headed for runoff in Pasadena mayor's race

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In the first city election since a federal judge found Pasadena's 2013 redistricting plan unlawful and discriminatory, a City Council member and a college trustee advanced to a runoff election for the chance to succeed Mayor Johnny Isbell, a longtime and controversial force in city politics.

With 93 percent of precincts reporting, City Councilman Jeff Wagner, who is considered an Isbell ally, led the field of seven candidates, according to unofficial returns.

The next highest vote-getter was John Moon, Jr., a San Jacinto College trustee, who drew less than half of the votes of the frontrunner. Since neither received 50 percent, Wagner and Moon will face each other in a runoff election tentatively scheduled for June 10.

Wagner's spokesman, Blake Douglas, said the councilman and former Houston police officer was overwhelmed by the amount of support his candidacy had received and he was "extremely optimistic" about leading the city into a new era. He said Wagner welcomed the DOJ observers.

"He has relied on his strict faith and Christian beliefs throughout this campaign and he is confident that he can bring leadership for all," Douglas said. "Jeff talks about the entire city as a whole. He is a very fair individual and he is a man of God. He has made efforts and continues to make efforts to reach out to all areas of the city.

Reached by phone, Moon said he would bring professional leadership and management experience to the mayor's office and that his goal would be to unify the city. He would also bring transparency and honest communication, he said.

"It will be a new day in Pasadena," said Moon, commercial real estate agent who grew up in Pasadena and worked as a banker for more than 30 years. "I plan on unifying they city by treating it as one city and leaving it in better shape than I found it."

He said he was concerned about the disparity of treatment in different areas of city, "Whether it's real or perceived," he said, "we will address both."

"The difference between me and Wagner is I will not be consulting with the previous mayor before I make a decision," he added. "I will be consulting with the citizens of the city."

The next highest vote-getters in order were businessman and ex-city employee David Flores, Councilwoman Pat Van Houte, Pasadena ISD associate Superintendent Gloria Gallegos, and former state Reps. Robert Talton and Gilbert Peña.

About 12 percent of registered voters took part in the mayoral election. Voters also cast ballots for eight single-member city council districts.

Observers from the U.S. Department of Justice were on hand at polling places Saturday to ensure the election's integrity.

However, not all voters were pleased to see them. Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart said his office got reports from an election judge that voters had complained at one of the polling locations that the DOJ officials were talking to voters as they went in and out of the polling site.

Stanart said he hadn't yet gotten a full report, but he added, "They were complaining to the election judge about the fact they were singled out, being talked to, and they didn't like it."

Ben Heck showed up at Keller Middle School to vote in the Pasadena ISD election only to be told his name was not on the list of precinct voters. He said they added his name to a hand-written list of several dozen other voters and allowed him to sign in.

"I doubt my vote will count but we'll see," Heck said.

Pasadena today is far from the honky-tonk town portrayed in the 1980 John Travolta film "Urban Cowboy," and the hard-fought campaign reflected the changes in an increasingly diverse, working-class city of 154,000. Many arose from the battles between Isbell and his allies and those who opposed him, including Van Houte, whom he once had escorted from a council meeting after she questioned the mayor's redistricting plan. The campaign also has demographic fault lines, pitting the city's largely Hispanic north side against the more affluent, Anglo southern part.

The elections came as the city also has become a flashpoint recently in conflicts over racial tensions and access to the ballot box. Nearly two-thirds of city residents are Hispanic or Latino, up from less than one-third in 1990. But many say the emerging Latino majority hasn't been given a fair share politically or in the delivery of city services.

Most of the mayoral candidates had vowed to move the city past the deep divisions of recent decades.

The conflict came to a head in a federal-court ruling earlier this year that favored a group of Latino voters who claimed that a city charter that Isbell rigorously promoted was designed to dilute the Hispanic vote. Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ruled in January that the city intentionally violated the rights of Hispanic voters when it approved a redistricting scheme that made it harder for Latinos to elect the candidates of their choice.

The ruling, which is on appeal, marked new ground for voting rights advocates since the U.S. Supreme Court removed key protections of the Voting Rights Act in 2013. The judge ordered the city to revert to a 2013 election map that uses eight single-member districts, instead of relying on six single-member and two at-large districts. The judge found that earlier format unconstitutional because the candidates whom Latinos preferred were less likely to win the at-large seats.

Election returns suggested that Isbell loyalists would not dominate the new council.

Council members Bruce Leamon and Cary Bass staved off challengers and avoided runoffs, with Leamon defeating Steve Halvorson by just nine votes. Former Councilman Phil Cayten won a seat on the new council. All are considered Isbell allies.

Council members Sammy Casados and Cody Ray Wheeler were uncontested in their reelection bids, as was District C candidate Don Harrison, an Isbell critic.

In District A, Daniel Vela and Felipe Villarreal were headed for a runoff election because none of three candidates won 50 percent. Thomas Schoenbein won nearly 51 percent in District H and avoided a runoff.

Central to the mayoral campaign was whether or not the next city leader would continue the city's costly legal appeal of Rosenthal's decision, seen as a symbol of the city's purported neglect of its Latino residents.

Most of the candidates said they would push to drop the appeal of Rosenthal's January ruling. Wagner stopped short of such a commitment, saying he would check with the city council.

The candidates stressed different themes.

Wagner emphasized boosting employee morale. Moon wanted a five-year capital improvement plan. Talton campaigned for increased investment in the city's police and fire departments and senior services. Gallegos, based on her experience with the school district, pushed workforce development programs to bring people out of the city's growing poverty. Peña said he would invest in programs to grow small businesses. Flores called for city departments to formally justify funding requests. Van Houte, among others, callws for increased transparency among the city and touted her ability to speak Spanish as a means to better communicate with some voters.

All emphasized a need to break from the past, including what some have described as Isbell's "political machine."

Before the election it was unclear whether the alleged disparate treatment of Latino residents would result in higher turnout by Hispanic voters. Historically, Hispanic voters have turned out at lower rates than white voters. As of Tuesday, just more than 3,200 had cast ballots at Pasadena City Hall, which University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus said earlier in the week was high.

As sitting council members, Wagner and Van Houte brought solid political bases to the race and were considered front-runners. But Wagner had the clear fundraising edge, reporting a total of $103,680 in contributions during the campaign, including a $2,500 contribution from Isbell's son, J.J. Isbell. That was more than five times as much as the candidate with the next-largest war chest, Moon.

Kristi Nix and Mihir Zaveri contributed to this report.

Editor's note: This article has been revised since it was first posted to reflect that Thomas Schoenbein won the District H city council race and won't require a runoff.